Do I ship it?

GamesChoices MatterChoices Matter + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choices Matter Hidden Object?

Choices Matter + Hidden Object

Of 261 developers who shipped a Choices Matter Hidden Object in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 273 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $800, ×1.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $210. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 273 games are announced against 161 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 273 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 261
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $896 → $2.1k → $2.7k → $2.3k → $1.3k → $1.3k → $597 (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 261
Bottom 30% $208 (exactly $208)
Median $802 (exactly $802)
Top 25% $4.0k (exactly $3,953)
Top 5% $45k (exactly $45,169)
Developers, 2 yr 261
Released games 576
Announced 273
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 25% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choices Matter, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 7,547 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $800, 1 in 4 over $3.9k, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 121 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 273 games are announced against 161 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  6. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  7. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  8. + ChessFair19 devs · median $419 · 20 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  10. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  11. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced
  12. + VampiresPoor odds40 devs · median $20k · 93 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Batman - The Telltale Series older $14.99 15,060 87% 452k $6.8M (exactly $6,772,482) Telltale
The Silent Age older $9.99 5,966 93% 179k $1.8M (exactly $1,788,010) House On Fire
Syberia 3 older $14.99 3,231 51% 97k $1.5M (exactly $1,452,981) Microids
35MM older $8.99 3,508 71% 105k $946k (exactly $946,108) Носков Сергей
Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders older $14.99 2,037 80% 61k $916k (exactly $916,039) Artefacts Studio
Last Room older $29.99 953 73% 29k $857k (exactly $857,414) Quantum Forge Studios
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Please, Don’t Touch Anything older $4.99 4,993 88% 150k $747k (exactly $747,452) Four Quarters
Accident older $14.99 1,462 76% 44k $657k (exactly $657,461) Duality Games, Spirit Games Studio
Bad Dream: Coma older $8.99 1,968 91% 59k $531k (exactly $530,770) Desert Fox
Lost But Found $6.99 2,316 71% 69k $486k (exactly $485,665) Rogue Duck Interactive
Organized Inside $7.99 2,024 94% 61k $485k (exactly $485,153) Meox Studio
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss $39.99 262 54% 7.9k $314k (exactly $314,321) Big Bad Wolf
Hotel Tales $14.99 455 80% 14k $205k (exactly $204,614) TopHouse Studio
GlitchSPANKR $19.99 275 96% 8.3k $165k (exactly $164,918) Mahelyk, TheClassifiedX
Momento $19.99 225 94% 6.8k $135k (exactly $134,932) Fat Alien Cat, Nomo Studio
The Anomaly Project $7.99 531 81% 16k $127k (exactly $127,281) Kekdot
Letter Lost $19.99 156 82% 4.7k $94k (exactly $93,553) FlatNine Games
Dream Cage $7.99 298 63% 8.9k $71k (exactly $71,431) Hitori De Productions

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.